Drake and Josh 101
by Mrs.Radcliffe101
Summary: Same summary as my last story. Updated. Please review!
1. Losing A Friend

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am _so_ sorry that I deleted my first copy of the story. Please don't be mad at me. I was either very busy to finish it or I couldn't think of any other parts for the story or both. This story will be exactly like my old one. Maybe better. I'm just going to make Chase's death a little less bloody. Again, I'm sorry about that. Enjoy.

It was a week before the last day of another year at PCA (Pacific Coast Academy). Fourteen-year-old Zoey Brooks, a girl who had shoulder-length blond hair and brown eyes and was wearing a pink and orange shirt, an orange skirt and white shoes and around her neck was a key necklace with hearts all over it a pink Z on it, and her friends were getting ready for a trip to Mystic Beach. Everyone was rushing.

Chase Matthews, a boy who had dark brown, bushy hair and green eyes and was wearing a blue shirt, blue jeans and dark blue shoes, went to the girls' dorm. He opened the door and saw that the room was empty. He was kinda glad that the room was empty because he had to make a few deliveries and he didn't want anyone to find out.

He put a rectangle-shaped box and a note on Zoey's bed, another on Nicole's bed and the last one on Dana's bed. Then he got out of the room and closed the door.

At another beach, the gang was having fun, even though they weren't with their school, thanks to a Quinnvention by Quinn Pensky, a girl who had brown hair and brown eyes behind rectangle glasses, and the wrong directions from Logan Reese, a boy who had brown, curly hair and brown eyes.

A few hours after they got to the beach, Zoey, who's hair was in two French braids and was wearing a sleeveless pink bathing top with blue and sky blue shorts, said, "come on, Chase. Let's go for a swim."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Zoey," said Chase, who was now wearing a red, white, and gray bathing suit.

"Why?" asked Zoey, "don't you know how to swim?"

"Well, yeah, I do," said Chase, "but…"

"Then what are you so worried about?" asked Zoey, "let's go. I'll race you."

"But Zoey…" said Chase.

"Come on, Chase," said Zoey, "last one in is a rotten egg."

"Well, okay," said Chase, "but just for a few minutes."

They went into the water. But they were in the water for a more then a few minutes. They were in the water for an hour.

Just then, Chase started coughing, and the coughing was harder then usual. And he was coughing more then usual. He had a hard time breathing.

"Chase, are you all right?" asked Zoey as Chase just replied by coughing, "come on. We'd better get you out of the water."

But Chase didn't get out of the water. He just fainted. Zoey was even more worried. She grabbed Chase's hand and pulled him out of the water.

"What's wrong with Chase?" asked Michael.

"I don't know," said Zoey, "it's like one minute, he was fine when he was swimming. The next, he was coughing and then he fainted."

"Oh, no," said Michael Barret, a boy who had black hair and brown eyes and was wearing a yellow bathing suit.

"Oh, no what?" asked Zoey.

"Leukemia," said Michael, "Chase had it ever since he was a little kid. Every time he is in the ocean for more then a few minutes, he coughs and faints. It's a very serious disease."

"Well, what are we standing here for?" asked Zoey, "we've got to get him to the hospital, now. Quinn, is that whatever-it-is of yours finally ready?"

"Just one sec," said Quinn, "wait… there. It's done."

"Give Chase's cell phone to me," said Zoey as Quinn did what she was told. Zoey called an ambulance.

A few minutes later, an ambulance came and a doctor picked Chase up, put him on a mattress on wheels and took him to the ambulance. Zoey and Michael came with him.

Meanwhile, in Chase's house back at home, Chase's dad, Tim, a man who had dark, bushy hair like Chase's and blue eyes and was wearing a black suit, was very frustrated because he's had a very bad day.

"That's it!" he said loudly, "I've had enough."

"Tim," said Chase's mom, Lydia, a woman who had long, red hair and bright green eyes and was wearing a blue skirt, a white shirt, a blue jacket and blue high-heels, "just calm down. You've just had a bad day."

"It was the worst day of my life, Lydia," said Tim.

"Well, look on the bright side," said Lydia, "in one more week, Chase will be home and we'll spend all summer together."

"You're right, Lydia," said Tim, "it always makes me happy to see our son come home with that big, happy smile of his."

Then, the phone rang.

"I'll get it," said Lydia as she picked up the phone, "hello? Oh, hi. What? Yes. We'll be right there."

She hung up.

"What is it?" asked Tim, "what's wrong?"

"It seems that we need to go to the hospital," said Lydia.

"Well, someone had better be dying," said Tim.

They went to the hospital and saw the last thing they would expect to see—their son in a hospital bed.

"I'm dying," said Chase, weakly.

Tim gave Lydia a guilty look.

"Chase," said Zoey, "don't say that. You're way stronger then that."

"I'm sorry, Zoey," said Chase, "but I think that this is the end."

"I'm sorry that I wanted you in the water with me," said Zoey.

"It's okay, Zoey," said Chase, "you didn't know. I should have told you earlier, but I didn't want you to worry."

"Chase, I'm worried about you now," said Zoey.

"Right," said Chase.

"Chase," said Zoey as a tear came out of her eye and she kissed him…on the lips, "that's something I've been wanting to do all year."

"If I don't make it…" said Chase as he gave Zoey an oval-shaped, blueish green pendant around a black chain, "this was mine. Wear this, and I'll always be with you."

He put his hand on top of one of Zoey's hands.

"Also, Zoey," said Chase, "there's something that I've been wanting to tell you all year but never had the courage to tell you. Zoey, I… I lo…"

He closed his eyes before he could even finish his sentence. Those were his last words to Zoey. In fact, those were his last words to anyone.

"Chase?" asked Tim, "Chase? Chase?"

But Chase didn't respond. That was it. He was pushing up daisies.

Zoey bursted into tears and threw her arms around Michael because next to Chase, Michael was the next best person that she always wanted to talk to. That night, Nicole Bristow, a girl who had long, dark hair and brown eyes and was wearing a flower bikini top and a green skirt, took Zoey, who was still crying a little, back to their room.

"Don't worry, Zoey," said Nicole as she handed Zoey a tissue, "it'll be okay."

She poured a bottle of orange blix into a cup, put a straw into it, and gave it to Zoey.

"Thanks," said Zoey as she took a little sip of the blix.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Nicole as she saw the box and the note on Zoey's bed that Chase put earlier before they left for the beach.

"I don't know," said Zoey as she opened the envelope, took out the note, unfolded it, and read:

_Dearest Zoey,_

_I'm sorry I didn't get you a present for your birthday this year, so think of this gift as a late birthday present. Oh, well. Better late then never._

_There's something that I've always wanted to tell you all year, but never had the courage to tell you. I… I love you. Ever since I laid my bright green eyes on your beautiful, brown eyes, I've always loved you. You're the best friend who's a girl I've ever had in my entire life. _

_I love you so much, I would totally marry you, if that were legal, and if we weren't still in school. Anyway, I love everything about you. I mean you're kind, smart, funny, honest, helpful and beautiful. _

_Those are all of the things that I've been looking all my life for my dream girl, and I've finally found the perfect one: you. I just didn't want to tell you earlier because I was afraid that I would totally mess up and wreck our friendship forever. Now you know why I sometimes act weird around you, why I didn't want you going to the dance with Glen, or why I didn't want you kissing Logan in the play I wrote._

_I also want you to know that I always think of you, even when I'm not with you. Happy Belated Birthday, my love._

_Love, Chase_

"Aw, that's sweet," said Nicole.

"Yeah," said Zoey, "too bad I can't say I love him back because he's gone forever."

"Why don't you open the present?" asked Nicole, "it'll make you feel better."  
Zoey unwrapped the paper, opened the box and saw a pink, three hundred page journal with a lock and key.

"It's beautiful," said Zoey, "and it's pink. My favorite color."

"Chase knows or knew what you like," said Dana Cruz, one of Zoey's roommates who had long, curly brown hair and brown eyes and was wearing a black bathing suit and a striped white and purple towel around her.

"I'm just so sad," said Zoey, "I've lost my best friend, who was also my one true love, and I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"You can say goodbye to him at the funeral tomorrow," said Dana, which was not helping.

In fact, it didn't really make Zoey feel any better. Zoey looked at the journal, and then at the necklace. Then she remembered Chase a little bit. This was the last thing that she had of him.


	2. Back To PCA Drake and Josh Style

The next day, Zoey, who changed into her short-sleeved, square-neck dress that was down to her knees, and black high-heels, put the necklace around her neck and felt it.

"Oh, Chase," said Zoey, "I know you're not here, but if you're up there, I just want you to know that I miss you very much and I love you too."

"Zoey, come on," said Nicole, "we need to be there now."

"I'm coming," said Zoey.

A few minutes later, all of Chase's family and friends were in a funeral house.

One of Chase's cousins, who was wearing a black suit, came to the pulpit and said, "Uncle Tim, Aunt Lydia, members of the Matthews family, fellow citizens, distinguished guests including best friends Zoey Brooks, Dustin Brooks, Michael Barret, Dana Cruz, Nicole Bristow, Quinn Pensky and Logan Reese,

"Today, we honor a great teenager. We lost Jason Matthews…"

"Jason?" whispered Zoey to Michael, who was wearing a black suit, "I thought this was Chase's funeral."

"It is," whispered Michael, "Jason was Chase's first name, and people in churches always say peoples' first name to honor them."

"Oh," said Zoey.

"…Only a few hours ago," continued Chase's cousin, "he was only fourteen when he passed away, which was a very young age. His loss was the saddest moment of my life. He was the greatest cousin I ever had, and the only cousin I ever had. We used to do a lot of things together when we were little kids, but we can't do those anymore. We can only hope for a fact that Jason is in a better place now, and that he will always be with us in our hearts. God bless Jason. Amen."

"Amen," said everyone at the same time.

A few minutes later, they were all outside, watching Chase's corpse, which was in a coffin, being buried near a gravestone. Some tears came into Zoey's eyes.

"Goodbye, Chase," she said, softly, "I love you."

Later that night, Zoey came back to her room, took out the journal that Chase gave her, took out a pen and wrote:

_Dear Journal,_

_The saddest thing of my life happened yesterday. Chase Matthews my best friend and my one true love died of leukemia and its all my fault. If I hadn't begged him to go into the water with me, he wouldn't have gotten sick and he would still be alive._

_His funeral was today. I said goodbye to him one last time. I confessed my love to him, but what's the point? _

_It's too late anyway._

_Love, Zoey_

Meanwhile, in San Diego, Josh Nichols was on his computer, typing an email to his pen pal.

"You still on that computer, Josh?" asked his stepbrother, or brother, Drake Parker, as he came into the room.

"Yes," said Josh, "I'm typing to my pen pal."

"Oh, no," said Drake, "not the Yooka girl again."

Yooka was Josh's old pen pal. She came for a visit one day and everything went fine, until when she decided to marry Drake.

"No," said Josh, "not Yooka. Another girl. Her name is Zoey Brooks."

"Wow, she sounds hot," said Drake sarcastically.

"Hey, I think she's cute," said Josh, "she described herself in her first email that she has shoulder-length blond hair and brown eyes. Look. Here's a picture of her."

Josh showed Drake a picture of Zoey and Chase together.

"Wow, she sounds hot," whispered Drake to himself.

"But who's this guy next to her with the bushy hair?" asked Drake.

"Oh, that's her best friend, Chase," explained Josh, "Zoey met him when he crashed into a flagpole on her first day of PCA."

"PCA?" asked Drake.

"Pacific Coast Academy," said Josh.

"Well, too bad she's taken," said Drake.

"Not really," said Josh, "she said that they're just friends."

"Well, then," said Drake, "since she's single, maybe she will want to snuggle with the Drakester."

"Okay," said Josh, "please stop before I barf. And give her a break. She just lost her best guy friend."

"Well, what happened to him?" asked Drake.

"It says that he died of a disease that he had ever since he was a little kid," said Josh.

"Oh, poor Zoey," said Drake.

"And poor Chase," said Josh, "I mean, they were very close friends."

The next morning, Drake and Josh woke up, went downstairs, and found their parents in the kitchen.

"Drake," said Drake's mom, Audrey, "Josh. We both have some wonderful news."

"What is it, Mom?" asked Drake.

"After the summer, you two will be going to Pacific Coast Academy," said Josh's dad, Walter.

"Really?" asked Josh, excitedly.

"What's so special about that school besides that it has one hot girl?" asked Drake.

"Well, Zoey told me that the school has more hot girls, cool dorm rooms, swimming pools and a beach across the street," explained Josh, "plus, it's a boarding school, so if we go, we wouldn't see Mom and Dad until the summer."

It didn't take that long for Drake to decide whether he wanted to go or not.

"Sign us up," said Drake.

As soon as Drake said that, Josh went up to his and Drake's room and checked his email on the computer. He saw a message from Zoey. He opened it and it said:

_Dear Josh,_

_It's the first day of summer vacation, and I still really miss Chase. His funeral was today. My friends and I were there._

_Chase's parents were very sad when they heard that their son got killed. I thought they were going to cry their eyes out. But I really don't blame them because Chase was their only son and child. _

_I just hope I don't feel sad my whole summer vacation. Well, I gotta go. Tell Drake and Megan I said hi._

From, Zoey 

Josh replied:

_Dear Zoey,_

_I'm sure that you won't be sad your whole summer vacation. I'm really sorry about what happened to Chase. But if you remember all the good times that you had with him, you'll get over him. _

_I feel sorry for Chase's parents. I mean losing their only son and child must be the saddest thing that has ever happened to them. I hope they're all right._

_Anyway, I have a surprise for you. I won't tell you, but let's just say that I'll be very closer to you then you think. Tell Dustin I said hi._

_From, Josh_

He pressed send. He couldn't believe that he was thinking this, but he wished that the summer would end soon and it hasn't even been a week yet. Over the past few months, Josh has had so many adventures, but he still couldn't wait to meet Zoey in person.

On the first day of PCA, Drake and Josh were at campus and saw lots of boys and girls.

"Wow," said Drake, "this place is sic."

"It sure is," said Josh, "well, I'm going to find Zoey."

Josh looked around, but he couldn't find Zoey. But after searching practically the whole campus, Josh finally spotted the girl he was looking for. But she had brown hair, not blond.

But he walked to her anyway.

"Zoey," said Josh.

When Zoey saw Josh, she asked, "Josh?"

"Hey, Zo," said Josh.

Zoey was very surprised.

"So this was your surprise?" asked Zoey.

"Yep," said Josh, "surprise."

"It's great to finally meet you in person," said Zoey, "and how are Drake and Megan doing?"

"They're okay," said Josh, "and how's Dustin?"

"Look," said Zoey.

Josh looked to his right and saw a large wardrobe box with small legs come to them.

"Hey, Zoey," said Josh, "there's a large box with small legs coming towards us."

"That's Dustin," explained Zoey, "he's been going through his whole 'I'm a big macho man' phase. Hey, Dustin. You okay?"

"Yeah," said Dustin, "this is nothing."

"Well, come on, Zoey," said Nicole, "let's go see our new room. I am so excited. Oh, hi Josh. It's nice to meet you."

"You too, Nicole," said Josh.

But Nicole didn't listen much and went back to her luggage.

"She's excited," explained Zoey.

"So excited," said Josh, "well, why don't you and I and everyone else meet at Sushi Rox?"

"Sure," said Zoey, "I want to hear about your summer."

"Yeah," said Josh, "yours too. Okay then. I'll call you later."

"Good," said Zoey as she went back to her luggage.

"Hey, Zo," said Josh, a little nervously, as Zoey turned around, "you look great."

Zoey was wearing a short, ruffled sleeved, red t-shirt, Chase's necklace that he gave her before he died, and a jean skirt. She looked really beautiful, indeed.

Josh started to go to his room. Just then, while Dustin was carrying the heavy wardrobe box, the box landed on him, crushing him.

"Little help," said Dustin, "boy under box."


	3. Time Capsule Drake and Josh Style

Author's note: I don't own Zoey 101 or the books. I just want to know what the books would be like if Drake and Josh were in them instead of Chase. You know Zoey 101 is a book series too. Oh, and I might not do all of the episodes. Enjoy.

For rooms, Josh was Michael and Logan's roommate. Drake had his own room right next door. Over the next few days, Drake and Josh loved PCA. In fact, they loved it so much that they never wanted to go home. Also, the more Josh knew Zoey, the more he liked her. In fact, he loved her.

When Zoey walked into Mr. Bender's class with Lola Martinez, her new roommate a few days later, the guys were already there, bent over a book and cracking up.

"Hey," Zoey greeted them. She took off her pack and slid into her seat beside Josh.

"Hey."

"'Sup."

"Yo."

The boys barely looked up. They were too busy laughing.

"What are you guys giggling about?" Zoey had to know. She leaned in closer to try and catch a glimpse.

"Oh," Josh said, finally noticing the girls, "just this old PCA yearbook." He held the book up higher so everyone could see.

"It's, like, from twenty years ago," Logan explained, turning a page and pointing at a picture of kids on campus.

"Whoa, check out this dude's pants." Said Drake. The "dude" was wearing bright yellow baggy jogging pants with a matching jacket.

"What-up with the puffy pants?" Josh could not imagine putting on an outfit that loose and bright…ever. The guy looked like a bumblebee.

Zoey held back a laugh as she scanned the other photos on the page. The fashions _were_ pretty bad. And the clothes were just one part of it. "Oh wow! Look at that teacher's giant hair." She pointed out a teacher whose mane made Chase's bushy head look like a crew cut.

Behind Logan, Michael poked his finger at another fashion faux pas. "Who wears a neon jacket?" he asked, stunned.

"Why are everyone's clothes so baggy?" Lola wanted to know. Nothing fit right. Didn't everyone try stuff on in the eighties?

The crew was so busy laughing that they didn't notice Mr. Bender come into the room. "Whatcha guys got there?" the teacher asked.

"An old PCA yearbook," Zoey answered.

"From like way back in the eighties," Josh explained.

Lola crossed her arms over her back T-shirt and smirked. "It looks like PCA used to be a school for geeks and losers," she announced.

"Hey," Mr. Bender said, taking a closer look. "You know what? That's _my_ old yearbook." He looked a little amused, and offended.

"Whoops." Lola's big silver disk earrings dangled over her shoulders. She hadn't meant to insult Mr. Bender. For a teacher, Bender was pretty cool.

"You went to PCA?" Zoey had no idea.

"Yeah, for like six years," Mr. Bender nodded. He sounded kind of proud, like going to PCA was something he loved.

"Okay, wait a minute!" Logan turned the book around so it faced Mr. Bender, then pointed at a picture of a kid with large reddish hair, even larger glasses, and a goofy smile. "Is this _you_ with the big round freakish glasses?"

Mr. Bender shook his finger at the book and then at the kids, but it was clear he was trying not to laugh. "Okay, those glasses were very fashionable back in the day," he insisted.

"That's you?" Michael could not believe his eyes. He took a closer at the photo, at the live Bender in front of him, and back at the photo. Michael laughed loudly for a few seconds but quickly reeled it in when he caught the look on Mr. Bender's face. He suddenly felt a little nervous. "You were very handsome," he added, trying to sound sincere.

Zoey and the rest of the kids fought back their giggles. The photo of Mr. Bender was hilarious.

"Yeah, just wait," Bender said, planting his hands on his hips. He almost sounded bent out of shape. But Mr. Bender was one of the coolest teachers at PCA, so he wasn't going to freak out or anything. Still, he had to make his point. "I bet in twenty years a bunch of PCA students will be looking at your guys' yearbook, making fun of what you guys are wearing right now."

"I doubt it." Lola looked down, admiring her black V-neck top with its cute heart print.

Suddenly Josh had a thought. "Hey, if PCA students are looking at our yearbook twenty years from now, you think they'll wonder what we were like?" Josh asked aloud. It was kind of a cool concept.

"Probably." Michael nodded.

Zoey was quiet, thinking. She was pretty positive that the PCA students in the future would be curious about their predecessors. It gave Zoey an idea. "Oooh, you know what'd be cool?" she said as the idea took shape in her mind.

"Being married to an actor?" Lola offered.

"No," Zoey answered. Then after thinking about it for a second, she had to give it to Lola. "Well, yeah." But that had not been what she was thinking. "What if we made a time capsule?" she suggested.

"Interesting." Josh was liking this idea. Zoey was always coming up with good ones, and this was no exception.

"What's a time capsule?" Logan asked. He'd heard the phrase before but had no idea what it meant.

"It's a container that you put things in, then bury. And sometime in the future, other people open it up and take a look," Mr. Bender explained.

"Cool," Lola said with a nod. Maybe not quite as cool as being married to an actor, but still pretty cool. She was liking the idea, too.

"Yeah, we could put in a bunch of stuff about us, and then in twenty years, PCA students could dig it up and see what we were like." Zoey looked at her friends to see what they thought. This could be a really cool project!

"I think that's an excellent idea. Let's make it a class project." Mr. Bender was totally on board.

"So what do we have to do?" Lola asked.

"Everyone should pick an item that best represents who you are right now," Mr. Bender instructed.

"And then we put it all in a container and bury it somewhere around campus?" Zoey asked.

"That's the idea." Bender nodded, smiling.

Josh absently flipped another page in the eighties yearbook. He eyes bugged out. "Whoa, Mr. Bender—you used to be a _cheerleader_?" he said, trying to hide to laughter in his voice.

A crowd of kids pushed closer to see Bender with pom-poms. The curly-haired teacher rushed forward and snapped up the yearbook. "There were no girls here!" he defended himself. The kids kept laughing as Mr. Bender took his yearbook and what was left of his pride to his desk at the front of the room.

"_Yeah. Oooh, that's hot. _Yeah, you're lookin' good." Logan and Drake said as they tapped the arrow keys on Logan's laptop, scrolling through the photos of their favorite subject—themselves. Their images appeared both on the screen of Logan's laptop and on Logan's giant TV. "Whassup, handsome?" he crooned as yet another enormous picture of himself, wearing a cap and tank top, filled the huge flat-screen monitor.

From the couch behind Logan and Drake, Josh and Michael tried to ignore their self-absorbed friends as they went through CDs, looking for inspiration. But Logan and Drake and their twenty-zillion head shots were hard to ignore.

"Okay, there's a fifty-fifty chance I'm gonna puke," Josh confided as he glanced at the Logan and Drake-filled screen. Logan and Drake weren't bad-looking guys, but their egomania was enough to make any normal guy queasy.

Michael shot Josh a look and edged toward the other side of the sofa. He didn't want to be anywhere near his roommate if he lost lunch. "I'm gonna sit over here, then."

"What are you doing, anyway?" Josh asked, looking over at Logan and Drake. He was well aware of Logan and Drake's extra-large ego, but the photomontage deserved a little explanation.

"Trying to decide which picture of ourselves to put in the time capsule." Logan scrolled to the next picture of himself. It was a shot of him looking straight into the camera with his arms over his head. A keeper. "Niiiice," Logan remarked, pumping his fist in the air.

Well, maybe for him. "Okay, that's _enough_." Michael grabbed the remote for the flat screen and flicked it off. "I do _not_ need to look at your armpit shrubs."

"_Thank you_," Josh said gratefully as the screen went black. Sometimes Logan and Drake were practically impossible to take.

"So what are _you_ guys putting in the time capsule?" Drake asked, grabbing a soda from the mini fridge.

"Well, ya know, we're writing a song about our lives here at PCA," Josh answered, eyeing the stack of CDs on his lap.

"I'm doing the music," Michael said, twirling a drumstick and nodding.

"I'm writing the lyrics," Josh added. He was really excited about their idea, but writing lyrics was turning out to be harder than he'd thought. And so far the CDs he'd looked at weren't helping.

"Oh, so it goes like, 'I love you, Zoey, from my head down to my toey'?" Logan cracked himself up in a lovesick imitation of Josh.

"No," Josh replied, laughing to hide his embarrassment.

Logan shook his head and waved the guys off before leaving the room with Drake.

As soon as Logan and Drake were out the door, Josh grabbed a pen and started writing. He might be able to use that….

"Don't write that down!" Michael shot Josh a horrified look and Josh set down the pad and pen as quickly as he had picked them up.

"You were going to write it down, weren't you?" Michael prodded. He couldn't believe it. He wanted their song to be good, not dorky!

"Maybe," Josh admitted with a sheepish nod.

"Hey, Zo', you coming to bed?" Nicole asked. They were in their dorm lounge and it was kind of late. Nicole was already in her jammies and on her way to their room with a load of clean laundry.

Zoey was busy fiddling with power cords. Her laptop was connected to a camcorder on a tripod. "Nah," Zoey answered. "I'm working on my time capsule thing." She made some adjustments and pushed a button on the camera.

"'Kay, have fun," Nicole said with a smile as she headed out with her pile of clothes.

"'Night," Zoey called.

"By the way, are you gonna say some things about Josh," said Nicole. She really wanted to know.

"Nicole," Zoey said, "I'm going to say things about everyone, including my new friends like Josh."

"Do you think you'll say stuff about… you know," Nicole said.

Zoey knew who Nicole was talking about, but Nicole just didn't want to say his name because she thought she would hurt Zoey's feelings, but Zoey just smiled.

"Yes," Zoey said, "I'll definitely say some stuff about him. 'Night."

"'Night," Nicole said.

When Nicole was gone, Zoey was alone in the lounge. Perfect. She wouldn't have any interruptions. Settling herself on the couch opposite the camera, Zoey aimed a remote and pushed the record button. The red light appeared and Zoey was on.

"Hi. I'm Zoey Brooks," Zoey introduced herself to the camera. She tried to imagine the people who would receive her message.

"If you're watching this, it must be twenty years from now. I bet a lot of stuff's changed since _I_ went to PCA." Zoey paused, squinting at her computer camera setup. Her laptop was working like a monitor, so she could actually see herself and what she was burning onto a DVD as she did it—it was all pretty techie and cool.

"Hmm," Zoey said thoughtfully. Technology was constantly changing. Could that be an issue in twenty years? "I hope you guys still have DVD players in the future, 'cause if not, I'm talking to no one," she joked. "Anyway, for me, the _best_ part about to going to PCA is spending time with my friends. And I'm lucky 'cause I have_ awesome_ friends here…." Zoey trailed off. She thought she was alone in the lounge, but on the monitor she spotted an elderly man lingering behind her with his broom, waving at the camera.

Zoey turned down slowly. "Hello," she said, feeling a little weirded out. What did he want?

"What are you doing, making a tape?" he asked in a gravelly voice.

"Uh-huh," Zoey answered. Wasn't it obvious?

"You want to be in it?" the janitor offered. He straightened the collar on his jumpsuit and smoothed his thinning gray hair in case he had a close-up.

"No…not really," Zoey answered. What she wanted was for him to leave so she could get back to her project.

"Yeah, well, I'm busy," he said grouchily, turning away and sweeping his way toward the door.

Zoey picked up the remote and hit stop. "Okaaay, we don't wanna scare the people of the future, so let's start this again," she said to herself, feeling a tiny bit guilty. She was sure the janitor wasn't to be creepy, but…

"Hi. I'm Zoey Brooks…." Zoey started again.

In her room with Lola, Nicole surveyed a giant pile of clothes on her bed. She picked up a pink terry spaghetti strap dress, looked it over, and tossed it back onto the pile. Then she retrieved a flowery pink dress with satin trim. "Okay, what do you think about this dress? Do you like this dress?" Nicole held it up for Lola to see.

Lola barely looked up from the magazine she was reading. "It's good for _you_," she answered, sounding totally bored. Nicole had been showing her clothes for what felt like hours. Couldn't the girl just make up her mind? It was late, and she wanted to go to sleep!

"Yeah," Nicole said, still contemplating the dress, "but it's, like, so two months ago. How about this top? You like this top?" She held a sleeveless red-and-white floral shirt up in front of the PCA T-shirt she slept in. The red shirt was one of her favorites. "It makes me look chesty," she confided to Lola in a whisper.

"Okay, can you explain to me why you want to put your _clothes_ in the time capsule?" Lola asked. She preferred to keep her clothes in the closet where she could, like, wear them.

"'Cause, I think the PCA students of the future will be very interested to know how cutely I dressed," Nicole burbled. Duh.

"You are so deep," Lola said with a straight face.

Her sarcasm was lost on Nicole. "Thanks." Nicole beamed, tossing her shirt back onto her bed.

"So what are _you_ putting in the time capsule?" Nicole asked. Lola hadn't said anything about what she was going to do.

"Nothing," Lola said casually, turning back to her mag.

Nicole's eyes were wide. "How come?" she asked. The time capsule was going to be so cool, she couldn't imagine not wanting to contribute something.

"'Cause twenty years from now I'll be an extremely famous movie star, so if anyone wants to know about me they can watch my _True Hollywood Story_," Lola explained matter-of-factly.

"Okay, but if you don't turn in something, you're gonna get a zero," Nicole reminded her.

"Don't worry. I'll get credit." Lola did not sound at all worried about her grade.

"But—"

Before Nicole could worry about it anymore, Lola reached up and turned out the light. Enough was enough.

"And not it's dark," Nicole said, still standing by the bunk and wondering what to do next.

"So go to bed," Lola suggested.

"Fine," Nicole said with a sigh. She climbed her ladder, shoved the clothes aside, and got under her covers.

For a brief moment the room was silent. Then a sound like an angry hibernating bear filled the room. Lola and Nicole both groaned. Quinn was snoring…again!

Lola snapped on the lights. She'd had it. "Are we supposed to put up with that snoring every night?" she asked. She was sick of having her beauty sleep interrupted. An actress had to look her best. "Someone's gotta say something," Lola fumed.

"And what are we gonna say to her?" Nicole asked. "'Quinn, you gotta quit snoring'? We can't say that."

Why not? Lola jumped out of bed, crossed the room, and pounded on Quinn's wall with her palm. "Quinn! You gotta quit snoring!" she yelled. She kept pounding until the snoring stopped. She glanced at Nicole and shrugged. It was worth it. And half a second later all was quiet. They did it!

But before they could celebrate, or get to sleep, Quinn's face appeared on the monitor she'd installed in their room. She looked annoyed. "Hey," she said into the camera, "will you guys quit banging on the wall? I'm trying to sleep."

Zoey popped a grape into her mouth as she walked up a wide flight of stairs with Josh. He was telling her about the song he and Michael were working on for the time capsule. Lately, all anyone could talk about was the time capsule and what they were putting inside it. And from the sound of it, there were going to be all kinds of different stuff included.

"…So I think it'll be pretty cool. Michael laid down this awesome keyboard track, and I should finish the lyrics by tomorrow night."

Zoey nodded, impressed. A song was a great idea. "So do I get to hear the song before you guys put in the time capsule?" she asked, flicking her side ponytail over her shoulder.

"I dunno," Josh teased. "What's it worth to ya?"

"Mmmm." Zoey contemplated her snack, breaking off a small cluster of fruit. "'Bout fifteen grapes?" she offered.

"Deal." Josh grinned and accepted the grapes. "So what about you? You finish making your time capsule DVD?"

"Yep. Last night," Zoey answered. She had stayed up late doing it—thanks to the janitorial interruption—and had rushed this morning to get ready. Not that anyone could tell. She looked totally pulled together in her cap-sleeve top and plaid skirt.

"Yeah?" So what'd you talk about?" Josh asked. This could be interesting.

"Y'know, all about my life here at PCA…my thoughts, my friends, what I like to do for fun…" Zoey had ended up saying a lot, actually. Making the DVD was more involved than she'd thought it would be.

"Your friends?" Josh was curious. What he really wanted to know was if she had said anything about him. But he didn't want to pry.

"Uh-huh." Zoey nodded.

"Oh. So… like, you talked about Nicole and Lola…and Quinn…." Josh was fishing. He couldn't help himself.

"Yeah. And you and Michael. And… Chase." She felt Chase's necklace around her neck. "I even talked about Logan for a little bit," she admitted, rolling her eyes. She had been surprised to find herself talking about Logan.

"Really? So, what kind of stuff did you say about… everybody?" Josh tried to sound casual even though he was dying to know more.

"Y'know…different stuff for different people," Zoey said vaguely. She wasn't sure what Josh was getting at. She just talked a little about everybody.

"'Course. That makes sense. 'Cause, like, if you're talking about Logan, you might mention that he's an egomaniac…" Josh said, trying to draw out more information.

"Right…" Zoey was starting to see where Josh was going with this. He wanted to know what she'd said about him!

"…But if you're talkin' about…_me_, you might say…what?" There. It was out.

Zoey smiled playfully. She knew what Josh wanted to know, but she'd made her DVD for the eyes and ears of the future. "I'm not telling you what I said," she told him.

"Oh, I think you are," Josh replied. Maybe she'd go for it.

"_Sorree_," Zoey said in singsong. "Gotta go to class." She loved keeping him in suspense.

"Oh, c'mon. What'd you say about me?" Josh called after Zoey's retreating back.

"You'll find out in twenty years," Zoey called over her shoulder. She gave Josh a small wave.

Frozen in place, Josh watched her go. Not only did he have no idea what Zoey had said in her time capsule entry, he did not know what he was going to say in his, either.

Michael's voice echoed in his head. "All right, I added the drum track last night and did a rough mix. How are you coming with the lyrics?"

Good question. A question without an answer.

That night in their room Michael asked again. "Yo, _Josh_!" he yelled, trying to snap Josh out of whatever trance he was in. He was waiting for an answer.

"_What_?" Josh yelled. "I mean, yes?" he guessed at the answer Michael was looking for.

"You don't even know what I asked you," Michael said accusingly.

Josh sighed loudly, put down the pencil and pad, and stood up, "I'm sorry, man. I can't focus." He started to pace. "All I can think about is what Zoey might have said about me on her DVD."

Michael lifted his eyes to the heavens. "Kill me," he pleaded.

"I mean, does she like me as a friend? More than a friend? How does she feel about hats?"

Hold on. Michael was suddenly confused. "You don't wear hats," he pointed out.

"I know, but if she _likes_ hats, I could give 'em a try. I just need to know her _feelings._" Josh held out his open hands.

Michael shook his head. This was worse than he thought. It was time for some _real_ advice. "Okay. You wanna know how Zoey feels about you? Ask her."

"No! I just wanna find out what she said about me on her DVD!" Josh blurted as Logan walked into the room.

"Zoey talked about you on her DVD?" Logan asked. His backpack was slung over his shoulder. He was wearing a black sleeveless T-shirt and looked, as always, laid-black.

"Um, yeah." Josh had not been expecting other roommate back for a while. "But I don't care," he said, trying to play it cool but knowing it wouldn't work.

"Sure you don't." Logan chuckled. He knew better. Way better.

"I don't," Josh insisted, shaking his dark curls.

"Fine," Logan said smoothly. "Just remember: Tomorrow that DVD gets buried…deep down in the ground… for the next _twenty years_." He put special emphasis on the last two words. He knew it would drive Josh nuts. And driving people nuts was one of his favorite pastimes.

Nicole yawned as she stumbled into the Brenner Hall lounge in a brightly colored striped tank top, shorts, and slippers. Drake joined her in a white dragon nightshirt and blue and white checker night-pants. They glanced around, looking for the spot where the noise was coming from. The snoring noise. They spotted Quinn almost immediately and looked at each other in surprise. You never knew what to expect from Quinn, but this was even stranger than usual.

The resident brain was dressed in her jammies, hanging upside down by her feet from her crazy contraption, and snoring…loudly. The ends of her long ponytails practically touched the floor.

"Quinn? Quinn. Quinn!" Nicole and Drake had to shout to wake the girl up.

Quinn's eyes fluttered open. "Oh. Hello. What are you doing here?" she asked casually, as if hanging upside down in the girls' lounge was what everyone did.

"I got up to use the bathroom. Then Drake and I heard your _insane_ snoring," Nicole said, crossing her arms over her chest. The snoring was really getting out of control. She hadn't slept through the entire night in days.

"Yeah," Drake said, "I can hear that noise from my room."

"I'm still snoring?" Quinn asked, sounding disappointed and surprised all at once.

"Louder than ever," Nicole confirmed.

"Darn it. I thought that sleeping upside down would invert my nasal cavities and stop me from snoring. And this is the third thing I've tried." Quinn sounded really upset, like she was about to cry.

"Wow, I thought you could figure out anything." Drake said. He and Nicole were stunned. Quinn's solutions were always unconventional, and not always necessary, but they usually worked—even if it wasn't exactly how she planned. She was, hands down, the smartest student at PCA.

"I can, usually. But I can't monitor my own snoring 'cause I'm asleep when it happens," Quinn lamented. She was truly puzzled by this problem and was starting to feel hopeless.

Nicole stifled another yawn. She and Drake wished they were asleep when Quinn's snoring happened, too. They wished they were asleep right now. "Yeah, well—" Drake pointed toward the exit and struggled to come up with a reason to go.

"Hey!" Quinn interrupted. She obviously had an idea. "Will you help me?"

Nicole and Drake would do anything to stop Quinn's snoring. But they had seen the totally strange stuff that happened to people who assisted Quinn with her experiments. "Um, I don't think we're the right people to—"

"Please?" Quinn begged. "I just need you to monitor my snoring while I try a few other remedies."

"Well…" Nicole gave in, not really having a choice. Besides, maybe it would help Quinn stop snoring. "Sure. I guess we could do that."

"Yay!" Quinn clapped her hands gleefully. She was back on track. "Okay, you can start by helping me get down from here."

"Right." Drake reached for the biggest, most obvious lever on the crazy machine. It had to be the release.

"Wait, don't pull that lev—" Quinn shouted, but too late. The lever released her feet and she dropped to the floor like a rock. Ouch.

Nicole and Drake cringed and looked down at the pile of Quinn on the floor. Her leg was over her head in a totally unnatural position. And she was making strange strangling noises. "Careful," Drake cried, wincing. Quinn looked _totally_ uncomfortable.

"You didn't bring _anything_ to put in the time capsule?" Zoey asked Lola the next day. She couldn't believe it. Lola seemed to like herself a lot—too much, almost. Why wouldn't she want to put something about herself in the capsule?

The more she learned about her new roommate, the less she felt she really knew her. Today was the day they were loading the capsule, and Lola had arrived on the grassy field empty-handed—after telling Mr. Bender what a cool idea she thought it was.

"Don't worry about it." Lola shook her head. Her large hoop earrings swung around her face.

"He's gonna give you a zero," Zoey cautioned. Mr. Bender was nice, but not that nice.

"We'll see." Lola shrugged, touching her pink crocheted hat that went with her dramatic Bohemian look. She had funky green streaks in her long straight hair, and wore a chunky beaded choker and a racer-back tank over a long-sleeved pink top.

Zoey shrugged and turned to watch the capsule being loaded. Mr. Bender was checking kids off his list as they added their contributions.

Nicole dropped in her best threads—silently bidding the outfit good-bye. She would miss it! Behind her, Logan and Drake walked up to the capsule carrying their contribution. Nicole blinked. Was that really a picture of him and Drake?

"You're putting in a picture of yourselves?" Nicole asked incredulously. Everyone knew Logan and Drake had a giant ego, but still!

"That's right," Logan replied easily, uncapping a pen. Not only was he putting his precious photo in, he was autographing it.

"Dear hot girls of the future…you're welcome," he said aloud as he wrote the words. Nicole rolled her eyes as Logan carefully placed his framed photo in the capsule. Then, kissing the pen, he tossed it in after—a little bonus for the girls of the future. Drake did the same thing.

"Anywhere in here?" Zoey asked, stepping up to the capsule, holding her DVD.

"Yep," Mr. Bender said. "Just toss 'er in."

Zoey added her DVD to the collection and walked away feeling satisfied. She hoped the students twenty year from now liked it.

"Josh, Michael, what do you guys have?" Mr. Bender asked as the guys approached.

"We wrote a song about our life here at PCA," Michael explained.

"Cool." Mr. Bender smiled his approval as Josh tossed the CD in. He could see Zoey's DVD sitting on top of the pile and had to use all of his restraint to keep himself from grabbing it and running away. Finally he turned away, giving Mr. Bender a little salute.

Lola approached the time capsule next.

"Lola, what'd you bring?" Mr. Bender asked.

Without any warning Lola burst into tears.

"What? What's the matter?" Mr. Bender stepped forward to comfort the stricken student.

"You're just gonna have to give me a zero for this project," Lola sobbed dramatically.

"You didn't pick an item?" Mr. Bender asked gently.

"No, I did," Lola explained between sobs. "It was a locket that my grandmother gave—before she…left us."

"Aww. I'm so sorry." Mr. Bender shook his head.

"My dad tells me I'm just like her," Lola went on, struggling through her tears, "so I thought the locket would be perfect for the time capsule, but…"

"But what?" Mr. Bender asked gently.

Lola clutched her chest where the locket would hang. "I…I just can't. It's all I have left of her. I'm sorry!"

Fighting back tears, Lola looked at her teacher. He was choked up. "It's okay," Mr. Bender consoled her. "Look, you gave the assignment a lot of thought, and that's the important thing."

"Really?" Lola gasped.

"'Course. And don't worry—I'm gonna give you full credit," Mr. Bender assured her.

"Thank you so much." Lola's crying stopped as quickly as it had started. She wiped her eyes. Then, turning quickly, she grinned at Zoey and Nicole. "Acting!" she quietly as she passed them. Her two roommates watched in disbelief as she walked away.

"Okay," Mr. Bender said, pulling himself together from Lola's sob story. "I think that's everything. Let's bury this puppy!"

With the help of two older boys, the capsule was lowered into a hole.

Josh watched, downcast, as his dreams of finding out Zoey's true feelings were buried.

"Guess you won't know what Zoey thinks about you for another _twenty years_." Logan couldn't stop himself rubbing it in, just a little. Torturing Josh about Zoey was way too easy.

Josh stared at the sealed and disappearing-under-the-dirt time capsule sadly. Without a word he bid his hopes _adieu._

Josh rolled over in his bed fitfully. Outside, lightning flashed. Rain drummed on the dorm roof.

"Guess you won't know what Zoey thinks about you for another _twenty years_," Logan's voice taunted for the hundredth time.

Finally Josh drifted off to sleep. He dreamed that he was in the future…twenty years in the future, to be exact. He still had a mop of curly dark hair, but his casual shorts, tees, and plaid buttons-down had given away to a space-age metallic suit. He held Zoey's DVD in his hand.

"Finally!" dream-Josh exclaimed. "I get to watch it!"

He walked up to his audio/video machine. It looked totally high-tech, yet had no buttons. "Player on," he said simply.

In an instant the machine came to life. "Hello, Josh," the machine said.

Josh smiled and put the DVD into the player. At last it was time to find out what Zoey thought of him!

"Old-style DVD detected," the machine said. "Choose display format."

"Hologram," Josh replied. Why settle for a flat image when he could see Zoey in three dimensions? In a minute Zoey would be standing right in front of him!

"Thank you," the machine said. "Image playback."

Josh walked over to a molded plastic chair and sat down. His heart was thudding in his chest, and his palms were sweaty. The time of truth had come.

Suddenly a bright light shot down from a cylinder on the ceiling. Then Zoey appeared.

"There are so many things I can say about Josh," she began. "Even though I've just met him, we've gotten to be really close friends. But there is something I've never told Josh, and that is…"

"Josh…Josh!" a voice interrupted.

Zoey's hologram image began to flicker.

"That is _what_?" Josh asked desperately as Zoey's image faded in and out.

"Josh…" came the interrupting voice again.

"And that is…" Zoey's sketchy hologram repeated.

Josh felt panicked. "C'mon, finish the sentence! Zoey! Zoey, come back!" he cried.

"Josh!" The interrupting voice just wouldn't quit. It was Michael, who was trying to jostle his roommate awake. The dude was losing it!

Josh opened his eyes wide and blotted upright, cracking his head on the bunk above him. "Ow!" he shouted. He threw off his covers and leaped to his feet. "Michael!" he shouted, grabbing his roommates by the shoulders. "You wrecked my dream! I was just about to hear what Zoey said about me on her DVD!" He looked desperate. "Man, why'd you wake me up?"

Michael felt totally guilty. "I wanted to know if you have an extra pillow I could borrow," he said, suddenly really regretting his decision to wake Josh up. He was totally freaked out about this Zoey thing. And now Michael was going to have to hear about it…

Josh snatched a pillow off his bed and threw it at Michael, hitting him in the head. "Here!" he shouted. "Now lemme get back to my dream!"

Josh dove back onto his bed and pulled the covers over him. He closed his eyes tightly. Michael just stared at him. And then, ten seconds later…

"Am I asleep?" Josh asked miserably.

"No." Michael shook his head.

Josh jumped back onto his feet and grabbed some tools. They had a mission to see to. "Come with me!" he ordered.

"Where?" Michael asked, not really wanting to know the answer. It was the middle of the night, and Josh's ideas were crazy in the middle of the _day._

"We gotta dig up that time capsule," Josh said.

Michael stared at Josh. He had definitely lost it. "Dude, it's two o'clock in the morning!"

"I've gotta know what Zoey said about me!" Josh begged. "I need your help!"

Michael could feel himself getting sucked in. But he wasn't going down without a fight. "Are you insane?" he asked pointedly.

Half an hour later Josh and Michael were out in the pouring rain with two shovels and a ton of mud. They dug and dug and dug. Rain lashed at their clothes. Mud splattered all over their faces and arms. They were soaking wet. And still they dug…

"You're insane!" Michael insisted, knowing that he was crazy, too. He didn't care about Zoey's DVD. So what was he doing out here in a thunderstorm, covered in mud?

"Just keep digging!" Josh ordered.

"What do you think I'm doin'," Michael shot back, "having a shrimp cocktail? Man, I tell ya, I don't know that much but I do know that of all the crazy—"

At last Josh's shovel hit something hard. "Ahhh! Here it is!" he yelled over the rain. "C'mon, help me lift it outta here!"

Josh and Michael tossed their shovels aside and began to paw at the wet dirt with their hands.

"Help me!" Josh shrieked, flinging mud off the capsule. He was so close he could taste it!

"I'm trying," Michael panted. The dirt around the time capsule was so wet it was oozing back around the metal tube as quickly as they cleared it. Finally they found the ends and pulled it out of the sucking mud.

Josh yanked open the time capsule door and pawed at the contents inside. At last he found Zoey's DVD. Raising it into the air, he looked up at the dark sky and cackled. "Finally, it's mine! It's all mine!" He sounded a little like a crazy scientist who had successfully completed an experiment. And he looked…well…

Michael stared at his friend, wide-eyed. Plastered with rain and mud, Josh looked freaky and sounded even freakier. There was _noooo_ question—Josh had definitely lost his mind.

Josh laughed again, then stopped abruptly when he caught Michael's eye. Michael was giving him the "you've gone around the bend" look. "I found the DVD," Josh explained sheepishly.

"Really?" Michael replied, as it he'd had no idea. As if he had not been helping him the entire time.

Josh felt kind of like a dork, but he didn't care. In just a few minutes he'd know what Zoey Brooks thought of him. But first he had to cover his tracks…

"C'mon," he said to his partner in crime. "Help me rebury the tme capsule so that no one knows we dug it up."

Michael rolled his eyes. "Sure," he said. Why not? "What else do I have to do at three o'clock in the morning?" He grabbed his shovel and started scooping the mud back on top of the time capsule. What a night.

It was three o'clock in the morning. Nicole and Drake were exhausted. They stared at Quinn sitting across from them on the couch in the girls' lounge. The other girl seemed wide-awake. But if Nicole and Drake didn't get to sleep soon, they would be a wreck! Not to mention the fact that they hated it when they got circles under their eyes.

"Quinn, let's just face it. Nothing's ever gonna stop your freakish snoring," Nicole insisted.

Quinn looked determined. A scientist who gave up easily got nowhere! Besides, she had an ace up her sleeve. "Don't give up yet," she told Nicole.

"We've tried everything," Drake protested. At least, it seemed like they had.

"No." Quinn had a devilish look in her eyes. "We haven't tried these…" She held up a glass of water and gazed lovingly at her "ace" or aces, since there were two of them, swimming around inside.

Nicole peered into the glass and made a face. "Ewww!" she cried, jumping back. "What are those?"

"A very rare breed of guppy from South Africa," Quinn said proudly.

Drake shot Quinn a look. "Okay, and how are South African guppies gonna stop you from snoring?" he asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer. It could be anything with Quinn.

"Well," Quinn explained, "when you remove them from water, they secrete a sticky liquid that's supposed to numb the mucus membranes of humans."

"And?" Drake was totally confused. What was she talking about? She couldn't possibly be saying she was going to…

"If I stick these up my nose, they'll coat my inner nostrils and the numbing effect should stop my snoring," Quinn said casually, as if she were talking about the weather.

Nicole and Drake stared at Quinn. This was a new level of scientific weirdness. A gross level. "Uh, we're going away now," she said, starting to get up off the couch with Drake. They couldn't get away fast enough.

Quinn pushed them back onto one of the cushions. "I need you to stay here so you can watch me sleep and tell me if it works. Ready?" She reached into the glass and grabbed a guppy. Nicole and Drake envisioned one of the guppies flopping out of Quinn's nostril and landing on her arm. Or leg! Or face! "Noooo," they said, feeling panicked.

Quinn held the first guppy up to her nose and inhaled deeply. The slimy little creature slid right into her nasal cavity. It felt…invigorating! She scooped up the second guppy and sniffed again. Slip! Very satisfying. And now the experiment could begin.

Nicole and Drake stared at Quinn in disgust. The guppies had completely disappeared into her nose. They were in her body! Quinn had snorted live fish into her nose. It was even grosser than Lola drinking raw eggs! "This is the most disturbing moment of my life," Nicole moaned.

"Mine too," Drake agreed.

Josh sat alone on the bottom bunk. Above him, Michael slept soundly in his muddy clothes. Across the room, Logan was out like an hibernating bear. A pair of filthy shovels leaned against the wall.

Josh opened his computer and the glow from the screen softly lit the room. He opened the jewel case and pulled out Zoey's DVD. Hands shaking slightly, he slipped it into the machine and put on his headphones. Then he clicked the menu to play the DVD.

In an instant Zoey's pretty face appeared on his screen. Josh smiled. Zoey was the greatest.

"Uh…hi. I'm Zoey Brooks and if you're watching this it must be twenty years from now. I bet a lot of stuff's changed since—"

Josh clicked the scan-forward button anxiously. He needed to get to the part about him before he lost his nerve. He clicked once more and Zoey's face came back into focus. Her voice was like music to Josh's ears. "…so having Chase as a best friend was definitely one of the best things about my life here at PCA. Even though he's gone, I still have a piece of him around my neck and in my heart. And now, I wanna tell you about one of the most special people I've ever met. His name is Josh Nichols. He's one of my new friends and he's like the most—"

_Click._ Pause. Josh's heart thudded in his chest. This was it—what he'd been so desperate to find out! And no one was going to stop him from listening to the rest of the DVD. Nobody except himself.

Josh stared at Zoey's paused face. Even now she looked beautiful in her purple shirt, her jean skirt and the necklace that was the last thing she had of one of her best guy friends. So why did he feel so bad?

Setting the computer aside, Josh got out of bed and nudged Michael. "Michael…dude, wake up! Michael…" He needed his friend to wake up so he could talk to him.

Michael rolled over with a groan. "Michael's asleep," he replied groggily. "Leave a message at the beep. _Beep._" He rolled over again, this time putting his back to Josh.

Josh reached up and rolled him back over. "C'mon. I gotta talk to you, Man" Josh pleaded.

Michael opened his eyes groggily. Hadn't Josh messed with his sleep enough for one night? "Aw, what now, man? You want me to go scuba diving?" he quipped.

"Is this wrong?" Josh asked, getting right to the point.

_Waking up a friend who was trying to sleep after you'd forced him to do your bidding in the middle of the night? _Michael thought. It sure felt wrong. But he was pretty sure that wasn't what Josh was talking about. "Is what wrong?" he asked.

Josh sighed heavily. "For me to watch Zoey's DVD without her permission. Is it wrong?"

Michael looked at Josh. The dude had a problem. "Does it feel wrong?" he asked.

Josh was quiet for a second. He didn't want it to, but he had to admit it did. "Kinda," he said.

Michael nodded. "Then you don't need to ask me what you already know." He pulled the covers up and rolled over yet again, hoping that Josh was finished with him for at_ least_ two or three hours.

Josh sat down on his bed. He picked up his laptop. He could still see Zoey's squiggly, freeze-framed face. With a giant sigh, he ejected the DVD into his pocket, grabbed a shovel, and headed back out into the rain, alone.

Sun poured through the windows of the girls' lounge. While female students made their way through the common room on their way to breakfast and class, Quinn, Drake and Nicole snoozed peacefully on the couch. There wasn't a snore to be heard.

Zoey opened the door to the lounge and looked around. She hadn't seen Nicole or Drake since the day before and she had no idea where they were. But it only took a couple of seconds to spot them on the couch with Quinn. The three of them were totally zonked out.

Lola walked over and nudged the sleeping trio with her knee. "Hey, guys," she said gruffly. And then, "_hey!_" really loudly. She wasn't used to being ignored.

Zoey nudged Nicole more gently. "Nicole, it's morning," she said.

Nicole and Drake stirred awake and rolled off the couch. She looked around sleepily. "Oh, hey, guys," Nicole greeted her roommates with a yawn. "I guess we overslept." She blinked again as her own words sank in.

"We over_slept_!" Drake cried jubilantly. "Quinn! Wake up! Get up!" He was so excited he couldn't sit still.

"What?" Quinn asked groggily, sitting up and adjusting her glasses.

"We slept through the night!" Nicole exclaimed. Normally she wouldn't call from three in the morning until eight in the morning "through the night," but given it was the most sleep she'd had in a long while, she was feeling generous. _Very_ generous.

Quinn looked befuddled. "I didn't snore?" she asked eagerly.

"No! The guppies worked!" Who cared if Quinn had had miniature amphibians up her nose for five hours? She finally got some sleep!

"The guppies worked!" Quinn echoed, feeling tingly all over. Nothing felt better than a successful experiment.

Lola wrinkled her nose in confusion. "Did she say guppies?" she asked.

Zoey nodded warily. With Quinn, anything is possible. "I heard guppies," she confirmed.

"South African guppies," Drake said with emphasis. "She put 'em up her nose," he added casually.

"Yeah!" Quinn agreed. "See?"

She picked up her glass of water, closed one nostril with a finger, and blew hard. _Plop!_ One of the guppies fell right into the water. She did it again with the other nostril. _Splash!_ The little guys swam around happily. Quinn held up the glass. "Look!"

Zoey leaned forward and peered into the glass. It looked surprisingly…clean. "Yeah, those are guppies," she agreed.

Lola nodded, her brown eyes wide. And she thought her goth act was weird.

Just then, Coco, the girls' dorm advisor, walked through the lounge, carrying a jar of peanut butter and laughing to herself. "Hey, girls," she greeted, pausing next to Zoey. "You guys catch Leno last night?" she asked.

"No."

"Nope."

"Uh-uh."

"Oh, you missed a gem. He did this joke about how slow the mail is… it killed me…he goes…"

Suddenly Coco started to cough.

"…He says, 'The mail is so slow…'"

She coughed again, a lot harder. She definitely had a glob of peanut butter in her throat.

"Are you all right?" Zoey asked, starting to worry a little. She almost looked like she was choking.

Coco coughed, then made a little gagging sound. Unable to talk, she grabbed the glass of water out of Quinn's hand.

"Wait!"

"No!"

"Don't drink th—!"

Coco ignored them and gulped the water—and the guppies—down. "Oh, that's better," she announced, waving a hand in front of her face. "Wooo."

Zoey, Lola, Nicole, Drake and Quinn all stared, unable to talk. It was just too gross for words.

It was another gorgeous afternoon on the PCA campus. Kids were all over the place laughing, hanging out, and heading to class. Zoey was riding along on her Jet-X scooter enjoying the feel of the wind in her hair. Not that Quinn had stopped snoring and that Lola was acting more or less normal, life at PCA was great again.

Zoey steered along the path, careful not to crash into anyone. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted something…interesting. Josh was lying facedown on the grass, fast asleep. Zoey smiled to herself, parked her scooter, and walked over to him. He was out like a light.

Walking around to his feet, she carefully tied his shoelaces together. Then she went back to the other end of him and lay down so they were head to head.

Zoey cleared her throat, and Josh's head bobbed up. They were almost nose to nose on the grass.

"Hey," Zoey said cheerfully.

"Hello," Josh replied. Waking up to Zoey's smiling face was a treat he wasn't expecting.

"Whatcha doin'?" Zoey said, her eyes sparkling.

"Resting," Josh said. It was kind of obvious, wasn't it?

"Why?" Zoey wanted to know. Was Logan's stereo back in action? Was someone in Josh's dorm snoring, too?

"'Cause I haven't gotten much sleep in the past couple of days," Josh admitted.

"How come?" Zoey pressed.

Josh was starting to feel a little nervous. Did Zoey know what he'd been up to? Should he confess? "Just busy…doin' stuff," he offered, choosing to play dumb instead.

Zoey nodded and tried not to smirk. Josh had no idea there was a practical joke in the works. She knew she shouldn't tease her friend but couldn't help it. Josh was so gullible. "Yeah, stuff can keep you busy."

"Yeah," Josh agreed.

"So listen…" Zoey sounded thoughtful, like she was about to spill something important.

"Okay," Josh said, a little excited. He picked up on the tone in Zoey's voice. She was going to tell him something…something big.

"You know how you asked me what I said about you on my DVD?"

"Uh-huh." Josh could hardly believe his ears.

"And I said you'll find out in twenty years?"

"Right," Josh said slowly.

"I decided that was a little mean," Zoey admitted.

"You did?" Josh struggled not to lose his cool.

"Mmm-hmm."

"Sooo?" Josh prodded. The suspense was killing him!

"So I'm gonna tell ya," Zoey said.

"You're gonna _tell me_?" Josh echoed. He couldn't believe it.

"Yep," Zoey promised with a smile, then dropped the bomb. "In ten years," she added, getting to her feet.

"What?!" Josh cried, totally exasperated. That was still mean.

"_Ciao!_" Zoey called with a little giggle as she ran over to her Jet-X.

"Oh, you're dead," Josh threatened with a laugh. Zoey sure knew how to harass a guy.

"Ooooh, I'm scaaared!" Zoey held up her hands in mock fear.

Josh scrambled to his feet to go after her but tripped almost immediately. He looked down to see his shoelaces tightly tied together. Zoey!

"Okay, now you're really dead!" he called.

Zoey swung a leg over the seat of her Jet-X. "Gotta catch me to kill me!" she called playfully.

Josh scrambled to untie his shoelaces as Zoey started to drive away. As she headed up the path, he yelled after her, "Zoey! I know where you live!" Sure, Josh was a little chapped at the joke Zoey had just played on him but teasing Zoey and being teased by her were fun and totally normal. And Josh had to admit, he was ready for things to get back to normal. Totally, completely ready.


End file.
